In the first part of his weekly ECHO column, John Aldridge assesses Liverpool's 3-2 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Dominik Szoboszlai confronts referee Darren England
Dominik Szoboszlai confronts referee Darren England(Image: COLORSPORT/Alan Martin/Shutterstock)
View Image
Liverpool's defeat at Manchester United on Sunday was hugely disappointing. The first half was not good at all. The second half was a lot better, but as soon as we got to 2-2 we took our foot off the pedal.
United were there for the taking. They'd gone. But we slowed it down instead of going for another goal. It was strange.
To get beat again - we've seen it so many times this year - especially against them, it hurts. Really, it's their cup final because they've got nothing else to go for. They've had nothing [to go for] all season.
Author avatar
Author avatar
But they've done the double over us. They should get a cup for that. I still believe that United are in a darker place than Liverpool, given what we've done over recent years. They're trying to make a resurgence, but we've just got to get back to what we're good at next season.
That's their trophy for this season. We know how competitive this game is and what it means to both sets of fans and that's why it hurts. There's been nothing between the sides in both games this campaign, but we've thrown away many games this season, so it's nothing new to us.
Sesko goal should not stand and Fernandes should have seen red
Manchester United didn't exactly come out all guns blazing at Old Trafford but we looked very panicky and kept giving the ball away and giving them opportunities.
Old Trafford is no longer that hostile. It's not like going away to Turkey. Liverpool have been to Galatasaray twice this season, so they should know how to handle Manchester United. Just work yourself into the game over the first 15 minutes.
Liverpool soon found themselves two goals down, but as much as I don't like to see goals ruled out for such minor infringements, Benjamin Sesko's goal shouldn't have stood. It was probably going in anyway, but it's 100% hit his hand.
For VAR to then say that it hasn't, it's just one example of things going against us. Bruno Fernandes should have been sent off for his tackle on Dominik Szoboszlai. VAR is there to help the referee, but when a decision is literally 50/50, they can favour it whichever way they want it to go.
If Sesko's goal had been at the other end and flicked the fingers of a Liverpool player, would it have been allowed? I don't think that it would. We don't get the percentage of results that we should, in my opinion.
Don't get me wrong, we probably didn't deserve it on Sunday, but when you need a little bit of luck with decisions - the Mac Allister one at Forest comes to mind - we've had quite a few that have gone against us. That said we are where we deserve to be in the table still. That's the way it is.
*FOLLOW OUR LIVERPOOL FC FACEBOOK PAGE!All the latest news and analysis from Anfield on the Liverpool Echo's dedicated LFC Facebook page*
Isak injury typical of Liverpool's season
It was a big blow to be without Alexander Isak on Sunday, after he withdrew from the squad late on with another injury. For so many players to be injured throughout the season is uncanny. I don't want to use it as an excuse for Liverpool's poor season, because even when players have been fit, we haven't been good enough.
But we've Connor Bradley out, Wataro Endo, Giovanni Lioni, Joe Gomez in and out, Hugo Ekitike now gone, Isak has been out for most of the season, it's endless.
Whether it's just bad luck or not, we'll have to wait and see next season, but it certinaly hasn't helped. Hopefully, Isak's problem is just minor, and he can make it back for the match against Chelsea, because the goals have got to come from somewhere.